Addis Ababa, in Ethiopia, ranked as the most expensive city to live in Africa as of 2024, considering consumer goods prices. The Ethiopian capital obtained an index score of ****, followed by Harare, in Zimbabwe, with ****. Morocco and South Africa were the countries with the most representatives among the ** cities with the highest cost of living in Africa.

Zimbabwe had the most expensive mobile internet in Africa as of 2023. One gigabyte cost on average ***** U.S. dollars in the African country, the highest worldwide. Overall, the cost of mobile data varied significantly across the continent. South Sudan and the Central African Republic also recorded elevated prices for mobile data, positioning among the ** countries with the highest prices for data globally. By contrast, one gigabyte cost **** U.S. dollars in Malawi, the lowest average price registered in Africa. Determinants for high pricing On average, one gigabyte of mobile internet in Sub-Saharan Africa amounted to **** U.S. dollars in 2023, one of the highest worldwide, according to the source. In Northern Africa, the price for mobile data was far lower, **** U.S. dollars on average. Few factors influence the elevated prices of mobile data in Africa, such as high taxation and the lack of infrastructure. In 2021, around **** percent of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa lived within a range of ** kilometers from fiber networks. Mobile connectivity Over *** million people are estimated to be connected to the mobile internet in Africa as of 2022. The coverage gap has decreased in the continent but remained the highest worldwide in 2022. That year, ** percent of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa lived in areas not covered by a mobile broadband network. Additionally, the adoption of mobile internet is not equitable, as it is more accessible to men than women as well as more spread in urban than rural areas.

The average for 2021 based on 50 countries was 107.42 index points. The highest value was in Democratic Republic of the Congo: 155.7 index points and the lowest value was in Sudan: 64.38 index points. The indicator is available from 2017 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In 2024, South African brands made up ***** percent of the combined brand value of the *** African labels with the highest brand value. In the meantime, Nigerian brands accounted for roughly seven percent of the total.

Consumers in Central African Republic paid the highest price for gasoline in Africa as of April 2025. One liter of the fuel cost on average 1.9 U.S. dollars in the country. In Senegal, the retail price for gasoline octane-95 reached on average 1.71 U.S. dollars per liter, the second-highest on the continent. On the other hand, consumers living in traditional crude oil producers in Africa, such as Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Libya, and Egypt spent less money on gasoline. For instance, one liter cost 0.03 U.S. dollar in Libya, among the cheapest in the world.

With a market value of 120 million euros, Victor Osimhen, born in Nigeria, was the most valuable African player in 2023. The 24-year-old plays for Napoli, joining from Lille since September 2020. He was the top scorer for the Serie A, with 26 goals, helping his team secure a third league title in their history. Achraf Hakimi (PSG), the Moroccan right back, and Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), the Egyptian forward, followed with 70 million euros each.

In 2023, a loaf of fresh white bread of *** grams cost **** U.S. dollars in Accra, Ghana. This was the highest price among the selected African cities. In Kampala, Uganda, the price of a loaf of bread averaged **** U.S. dollars, while it amounted to **** U.S. dollars in Lagos, Nigeria. The African countries where bread was most expensive were Uganda, South Africa, and Mauritius.

The citizens of Seychelles had the most powerful passports in Africa as of May 2024. The country received a visa-free score of 156 points. Mauritius and South Africa followed with a score of 151 and 108, respectively. In contrast, Libyan and Somalian citizens had the weakest passports on the continent. Africa and visa-free travel In 2021, Seychelles, Benin, and The Gambia emerged as the Africa Visa Openness Index leaders by providing visa-free access to visitors from all African countries. These nations demonstrated the most inclusive policies within the continent. However, the most visited destinations among travelers did not necessarily equate to visa-free travel. Furthermore, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, and Tunisia were Africa's most popular travel destinations between 2019 and 2021. Most desirable passports based on visa-free travel Japan and Singapore held the top spots for the strongest passports in the world, providing visa-free entry to 192 countries. The official travel documents of German and South Korean citizens followed closely. However, based on a survey conducted in 2015 about the most sought-after additional nationalities, the British nationality held the top spot, with almost 20.4 percent of the respondents reporting that as a preference next to their own. Notably, the cost of passports does not directly reflect their ranking. The price of a passport doesn't always determine its power. While some of the world's most expensive passports are indeed powerful, there are weaker passports that can be more expensive in terms of the number of working hours required to afford them. For instance, in Mexico, a person needs to work 266 hours to be able to purchase a passport. 

Cabo Verde recorded the highest electricity price for households in Africa. As of June 2024, one kilowatt-hour costs around **** U.S. dollars in the country. Kenya and Sierra Leone followed, with households paying **** and **** U.S. dollars per kilowatt-hour, respectively. Mail, Burkina Faso, and Gabon also recorded relatively higher prices for electricity on the continent. On the other hand, Egypt, Zambia, Angola, and Libya registered the lowest prices for electric energy in Africa. Countries usually retain high prices for household and business electricity In Africa, countries with high electricity prices for households also tend to have higher prices for businesses. For instance, Cabo Verde, Burkina Faso, and Kenya’s energy prices for companies placed them among the most expensive four countries on the continent. As of late 2023, the electricity prices stood at around ***, ***, and **** U.S. dollars per kilowatt-hour, respectively. Electricity access and reliability vary across the continent A significant share of Africans still live with no access to electricity. Although almost all of North Africa's population had access to electricity, the other regions had lower electricity access in 2021. Western, Southern, and Eastern Africa had just over ** percent of their citizens living in electrified areas, while in Central Africa it stood at around ** percent. Nevertheless, according to a survey, two Eastern African countries ranked highest with the most reliable electricity supply on the continent. Between 2021 and 2023, some ** percent of Mauritians and ** percent of Seychellois reported having a supply that worked most or all the time.

Businesses in Côte d'Ivoire paid the highest price for electricity in Africa, around **** U.S. dollars for one kilowatt-hour as of September 2023. The amount was slightly higher of that registered in Cabo Verde and Burkina Faso, the second and third most expensive countries for business electricity on the continent. On the other hand, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Angola, and Libya recorded the lowest electricity prices for businesses in Africa in the same period.

This statistic shows the 20 countries* with the highest infant mortality rate in 2024. An estimated 101.3 infants per 1,000 live births died in the first year of life in Afghanistan in 2024. Infant and child mortality Infant mortality usually refers to the death of children younger than one year. Child mortality, which is often used synonymously with infant mortality, is the death of children younger than five. Among the main causes are pneumonia, diarrhea – which causes dehydration – and infections in newborns, with malnutrition also posing a severe problem. As can be seen above, most countries with a high infant mortality rate are developing countries or emerging countries, most of which are located in Africa. Good health care and hygiene are crucial in reducing child mortality; among the countries with the lowest infant mortality rate are exclusively developed countries, whose inhabitants usually have access to clean water and comprehensive health care. Access to vaccinations, antibiotics and a balanced nutrition also help reducing child mortality in these regions. In some countries, infants are killed if they turn out to be of a certain gender. India, for example, is known as a country where a lot of girls are aborted or killed right after birth, as they are considered to be too expensive for poorer families, who traditionally have to pay a costly dowry on the girl’s wedding day. Interestingly, the global mortality rate among boys is higher than that for girls, which could be due to the fact that more male infants are actually born than female ones. Other theories include a stronger immune system in girls, or more premature births among boys.

According to reported quarterly production, Kibali, located in the Democratic Republic of Congo, ranked as the largest gold mine in Africa as of 2022. Owned by Kibali Goldmines SA, the mine recorded an output of 750,000 ounces of gold. The Loulo Gounkoto mine in Mali held the second-biggest gold production volume, 684,000 ounces. South Africa's pre-eminence in gold mining and reserves Taking a global vantage point, South Africa had the third most substantial reservoir of gold mines in 2022. In a comparable vein, Mali claims the fifteenth spot on the list of nations with the highest gold mines. South Africa had approximately nine percent of the world’s gold reserves. Furthermore, the country had six of the leading deepest mines in the world, many of which were gold mines. Unveiling Africa's mining landscape In 2019, the collective expenditure allocated to mining exploration endeavors in Africa reached a sum of 1.12 billion U.S. dollars. A cohort of 258 mining companies contributed to the financial commitment, and each actively engaged in their pursuit of uncovering valuable resources across the continent. As of December 2022, leading mining companies assessed through the lens of market capitalization, it becomes evident that Anglo American Platinum stood as the foremost mining company with its headquarters based in Africa. During that time, the market capitalization of Anglo-American Platinum reached an impressive figure of 24.27 billion U.S. dollars.

A drought in Ethiopia in 1983 caused 300 thousand deaths, the deadliest natural disaster recorded in Africa between 1970 and 2019. Drought was the natural disaster that caused the largest number of deaths in Africa, much more than floods and landslides. Some of the deadliest droughts occurred in the 1970s and 1980s, especially in the Horn of Africa and Eastern Africa. The Horn of Africa has been largely affected by floods, landslides, and tropical cyclones. For instance, thousands of people, mainly in South Sudan, Sudan, and Somalia, were displaced due to various hazards and climate-induced disasters.

Africa’s vulnerability to climate change

Africa is particularly vulnerable to climate change. A large share of the population lives in poverty and its livelihood depends on activities extremely sensitive to climate changes and weather conditions, such as agriculture, forestry, and fishing. Climate conditions for agricultural production have worsened in the last years, according to five out of 10 Africans. People living in rural areas and working directly in agriculture are more observant of this phenomenon.

Economic impact of natural disasters

The majority of natural disasters that affect Africa are floods, which represent 60 percent of all reported natural disasters recorded over the last decades. Natural disasters such as droughts, storms, and landslides have a huge economic impact. A drought in South Africa in 1990 and Cyclone Idai, in Mozambique in 2019, were the most expensive climate disasters recorded in Africa between 1970 and 2019. Each of these two events caused an economic loss of almost two billion U.S. dollars.

The total gold production in Africa amounted to 722.5 metric tons in 2023. This represented a decrease of nearly two percent in comparison to the previous year. The African gold mining industry The production of gold worldwide has been generally increasing since 2010, reaching an estimated 3,300 metric tons in 2024. Africa is the third-largest gold producing continent in the world, and has gold mining activities in more than 21 of its countries. Ghana, one of the world's leading countries in gold production, and the largest producer in Africa, produced 130 metric tons of gold in 2024. The first gold mines in Africa were, however, discovered in South Africa in 1886. Gold mining is a major source of employment in South Africa, and was once the largest part of the South African economy. What is so special about gold? Gold is a naturally occurring transition metal. It is a soft and dense precious metal that is the most malleable out of all metals. Gold has many uses, including its well known primary use in jewelry. Gold's special properties are considered valuable in jewelry manufacturing, which include high luster, yellow color, and tarnish resistance. For industrial uses, gold is very valuable in electronics. Gold acts as a highly efficient conductor that can carry currents and avoid corrosion. It is also used in connectors, connecting wires, and connection strips. It is also used in the medical industry, in treating conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and in radiation therapy for certain cancers. Gold is mined using various processes, including panning, sluicing, and dredging. The purity of gold is measured in karats, in which 24 karats is equivalent to 100 percent gold.

Data revealed that Pakistan was the least expensive place in the world to get Netflix as of October 2023, with a monthly subscription for the standard plan costing 2.90 U.S. dollars. Egypt and Nigeria followed, with monthly prices for a Netflix subscription amounting to 3.88 and 4.65 U.S. dollars respectively. Netflix’s plans and costs In addition to the standard package, Netflix provides four different plans in its home country, the United States. The premium version is the most expensive plan, but customers can watch content on four different devices, while the standard supports two devices and the basic plan just one device. In order to offset income and subscriber losses, the streaming giant launched a fourth tier in November 2022: basic with ads. This plan, which is partly financed through advertising, can be acquired for a monthly fee of less than five U.S. dollars. Netflix’s measures in times of crisis Facing constant and growing competition, as well as an economic downturn, Netflix is making changes in an effort to maintain its dominant position within the video streaming industry. While the service has recently started to crack down on account sharing in major countries, it announced in February 2023 to cut prices in over 100 territories, including especially Central and South American, African, and Asian countries. The latter affects around 10 million Netflix customers, and should boost subscriber additions and combat churn in these markets.

Damascus in Syria was ranked as the least expensive city worldwide in 2023, with an index score of ** out of 100. The country has been marred by civil war over the last decade, hitting the country's economy hard. Other cities in the Middle East and North Africa, such as Tehran, Tripoli, and Tunis, are also present on the list. On the other hand, Singapore and Zurich were ranked the most expensive cities in the world.

As of 2022, the FIFA World Cup in Qatar was the most expensive World Cup of all time, costing the hosts an estimated 220 billion U.S. dollars. This was nearly 19 times more expensive than the previous World Cup, in part due to high infrastructure costs.

75 percent of South African respondents answer our survey on "Most common insurances by type" with "Health insurance". The survey was conducted in 2024, among 2,034 consumers. Looking to gain valuable insights about insurance customers worldwide? Check out our

When asked about "Attitudes towards insurances", most South African respondents pick "I trust my insurance provider to take care of my claims" as an answer. 39 percent did so in our online survey in 2024. Looking to gain valuable insights about insurance customers worldwide? Check out our

In the fourth quarter of 2021, sending remittances from South Africa was most expensive, at 13.02 percent of the total transfer. This was more than twice the G20 average percentage cost. Sending remittance from Russia was the cheapest out of the selected G20 countries at 3.13 percent of the transferred amount of money.